News updates January 18, 2022
1. Pakistani Bank Asks Customers to Avoid Conducting Crypto Transactions
A major bank in Pakistan has reportedly asked its customers to avoid conducting cryptocurrency transactions. Bank Alfalah’s action came shortly after the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s central bank, submitted a report to the Sindh High Court recommending a complete ban on cryptocurrency.
Bank Alfalah Asks Customers to Avoid Conducting Crypto Transactions
Pakistani Bank Alfalah has reportedly started sending SMS alerts to its customers, asking them to avoid carrying out cryptocurrency transactions using its banking channels.
Incorporated in 1992, Bank Alfalah is one of the largest private banks in Pakistan with a network of more than 800 ATMs and branches in more than 200 cities across the country. Owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Group, the bank has an international presence in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bahrain, and UAE.
According to several media outlets, the bank’s text message to customers reads:
Dear Customer, Virtual currencies/coins/tokens, etc. are not legal tender, issued or guaranteed by the government of Pakistan and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has not authorized or licensed any individual or entity for the same. Kindly avoid conducting such transactions from any channel pertaining to Bank Alfalah.
2. India's Modi urges collective global effort to deal with cryptocurrencies
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi, India, December 6, 2021.
NEW DELHI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that a collective global effort is needed to deal with the problems posed by cryptocurrenices.
The kind of technology it is associated with, the decision taken by a single country will be insufficient to deal with its challenges. We have to have a similar mindset," Modi said at the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda conference.
India has been mulling virtual currency-related regulations which were widely expected to be introduced in the winter session of the parliament in December before being shelved.
3. Pakistan Government Not Adverse To Cryptocurrency
A high-ranking official in Pakistani government has stated that the executive power would not oppose cryptocurrency investment. This statement comes after a high court in Pakistan has asked the federal government regulate cryptocurrency and created a committee to investigate the issue over the next few months.
Pakistan government has no objection to crypto investments
Ali Muhammad Khan, Pakistan’s Minister for State for Parliamentary Affairs, acknowledged cryptocurrency as a new concept. He addressed members of the National Assembly. The minister then stated that there was no objection to the Pakistani youth investing through the new technology
According to the Daily Times, Khan made these comments Wednesday in response a calling attention notice in parliament about the lack of a regulatory framework regarding cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. While the minister said that they did not oppose the regulation, he pointed out that the State Bank of Pakistan ( SBP) had certain reservations that should be addressed.
4. Altcoins Gain Bigger Share in Payments, Crypto Spending on Luxury Goods Jumped in 2021
Crypto payments processor BitPay says that the bitcoin (BTC) payments at merchants who use the company’s services dropped to 65% of all processed payments last year -- a decline from 92% in 2020
In addition to bitcoin, other assets that generated a significant share of the payments BitPay processed in 2021 included ethereum (ETH), with a 15% stake, and stablecoins, which generated a total of 13%, company representatives told Bloomberg. The increased popularity of stablecoins in crypto payments is partly due to the fact that more businesses have started to use them for cross-border payments.
5. South Korean Crypto Exchanges Face AML Probes as Regulators Test Compliance
South Korean regulators are set to probe the nation’s four biggest crypto exchanges to test their anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities
The exchanges – Korbit, Upbit, Coinone, and Bithumb – are the only trading platforms that operate fiat KRW markets and received their operating permits from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) late last year. The latter is an agency that answers to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the top financial regulator.
6. Most Defi Hacks in 2021 Had to Do With Centralization Issues, According to Certik
Certik, a blockchain security and auditing firm, has reported that the most common attack vector for hacks in decentralized finance (defi) protocols had to do with centralization in 2021. This data is present in Certik’s latest report, where the company also examines the growth of defi in 2021, and how other chains such as Avalanche and BSC rose as alternatives to Ethereum’s high fees
Centralization Costs Defi Protocols $1.3 Billion in 2021
A new report issued by Certik, a blockchain security and auditing firm, has revealed that centralization issues in defi protocols were the most common attack vector for hackers in 2021. According to the firm, $1.3 billion were exploited using single points of failure. Certik made 1,737 smart contract audits during 2021, and found 286 instances of discrete centralization risks. The report states
Centralization is antithetical to the ethos of DeFi and poses major security risks. Single points of failure can be exploited by dedicated hackers and malicious insiders alike.
7. Business Advisory Firm Expects Criminal Cryptocurrency Transactions to Fall by 30% by 2024
Gartner, an advisory firm, has predicted that criminal cryptocurrency transactions or transfers will fall by 30% by 2024. The firm says factors such as the transparency of the blockchain, as well as the democratization of fraud prevention tools, will contribute to this decline in such transactions
